Slipping Through the Net: The Financial Conduct Authority’s Approach in Lessening the Incidence of Money Laundering in the UK

The paper analyses the UK money laundering regime, highlighting specific challenging areas. The paper investigates the role of politically exposed persons and the use of corporate structures in promoting money laundering. In this context, it also becomes crucial to investigate the role of financial institutions and the sufficiency of their governance approach in lessening the incidence of money laundering. The paper compares these findings to the regulatory outcomes. The paper suggests that the regulator can guide financial services firms to meet the regulatory objectives by relying on an approach that discerns the regulatory risks presented by different firms depending on their size.